The Day We Had A “Welcome Party”

So the good news (for us) was that Gram’s plane got cancelled two days in a row and she got to stay until Wednesday.  The bad news was that Emily’s bili number kept getting higher and she kept eating less and losing weight.

This picture documents her funny hat and one of her many trips to the doctor/hospital/lab during that time.  The other photo documents her ever increasing “tan.”  As her bili number kept getting higher, she began to look less and less like her very white mom and dad.

It was looking more and more like Emily would be heading back to the hospital for another stay, so to help lighten the mood and celebrate having her at home, our resident party planners Katelyn and Brooke put together a “Festival/Welcome Party” for Emily (there were several name changes to the event as the night went on.

The girls set up a great party area, complete with decorations, art work and a welcome sign.  We enjoyed water and jelly beans using Katelyn’s tea set.  They prepared speeches and a musical/dance program too. 

But my favorite part was the special area they prepared for the guest of honor.  Emily’s baby gym had been lined with extra blankets and pillows and as you can see in the top left hand corner of the picture, a special “binkie platter" for her to choose from.  We were really encouraging her to love a pacifier but she was mildly resistant and showed no real preference for a particular kind of binkie.  So the girls made sure to have all the choices readily available for “her royal highness.”     

It was such a fun “festival” and I was so happy to see the girls so excited to celebrate this new little person that had completely disrupted their lives.  We’ll see if they joy continues.